EXCLUSIVE: Japanese film Living in Two Worlds has secured international sales to several territories: Hong Kong (Edko), Taiwan (Sky Digi), China (Hugoeast), South Korea (MediaCastle), Indonesia (Falcon), Israel (Lev Cinema) and in-flight (Encore).
Since the film’s release on September 13 in Japan, Living in Two Worlds has grossed more than 90.3M yen (approximately $615,000), with Gaga Corporation representing the film.
The film premiered in-competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival and will also compete at the BFI London Film Festival.
Directed by Mipo O, Living in Two Worlds stars Ryo Yoshizawa, Akiko Oshidari and Akito Imai. The film is based on an autobiographical essay by Dai Igarashi.
Producer Hideyuki Yamakuni obtained the rights to the essay before approaching O to direct the film.
“I had heard a rumor that Mipo rejected all offers to direct feature films, but I had a glimmer of hope that she might accept this project,” Yamakuni said. “Since she can depict a son’s growth from a mother’s perspective, I wanted her to be the director.”
O had taken a break from filmmaking to focus on parenting, but she accepted the offer to helm Living in Two Worlds.
Living in Two Worlds tells the story of Dai, who is born to deaf parents in rural Japan. However, as he grows older, he becomes troubled by his differences from others and begins to blame his deaf mother for his daily frustrations. When he turns 20, Dai leaves home for Tokyo, where he starts working as a magazine reporter. When Dai returns home for the first time in eight years and spends time with his deaf mother, a memory that has been sealed away unexpectedly comes back to Dai.
O directed The Light Shines Only There in 2014, which won the Best Director Award in the world competition section at the Montreal World Film Festival, and was also selected as the Japan’s representative for Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars. O’s follow-up film Being Good won the NETPAC Award for best Asian film at the Moscow International Film Festival.